US Eyes 2029 Club World Cup as World Cup Momentum Builds
The United States is exploring the possibility of hosting the 2029 Club World Cup, with US officials having held preliminary discussions with Fifa about the tournament, according to The Guardian. No formal bid has been lodged, however, as Fifa has yet to confirm the details of its selection process.
The interest comes on the back of an extraordinarily successful 2026 World Cup, which the US is co-hosting alongside Canada and Mexico. Fifa has sold 6.5 million tickets for the tournament — almost double its previous sales record — and is on course to exceed its revenue target of $11 billion (£8.2bn). That commercial momentum makes North America a compelling proposition for Fifa when it comes to awarding future events.
It remains unclear whether Donald Trump’s administration or his World Cup taskforce, chaired by Andrew Giuliani, has been directly involved in the Club World Cup discussions. Giuliani did, however, publicly celebrate the current tournament’s impact, stating that “soccer is no longer a future American story.”
Fifa’s relationship with the US government has been notably close during this World Cup. The governing body’s disciplinary committee took the unusual step of overturning Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban mid-tournament after Trump revealed he had personally raised the matter with Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Balogun subsequently featured in the USA’s last-16 defeat to Belgium.
The 2029 hosting decision is expected to be made next year, likely after Fifa’s presidential election in April. Trump is due to leave office in January 2029, meaning he would still be in post when the host is chosen.
The US was awarded the 2025 Club World Cup without a competitive bidding process, appointed unanimously by the Fifa Council in June 2023. Fifa is also weighing an expansion of the 2029 edition to 48 teams, which could further strengthen a US bid given the country’s stadium capacity and existing infrastructure.
The field of interested parties is broader than initially expected. Spain and Morocco — two of the 2030 World Cup hosts — had long been considered frontrunners, but The Guardian reports that Brazil and Qatar have also signalled interest.
Meanwhile, a joint bid from the US, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup is awaiting ratification by Fifa.
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